Rain without Clouds, the Upcoming Cooling, and Strong Leeside Winds: All in My New Podcast

The radar image this morning at 5:30 AM showed rain...some heavy... offshore.

As shown in the satellite image at the same time, much of that area was clear while the clouds that were observed closer to the shore were stratus that would have some drizzle at most.

What is going on?    In my podcast, I give the answer:  cool air near the surface and warm air aloft produced an atmosphere "lens" that caused the radar beam to be deflected down to the ocean surface.  Thus, the "target" was not raindrops but the ocean's surface!

I also provide the forecast, which suggests a substantial cool down on Sunday (see predictions for next week at Seattle below), as cool marine air surges into western Washington.

Finally, in the podcast I also describe the potential for strong winds over the eastern slopes of the Cascades as cool, dense marine air moves into western Washington, increasing pressure there and resulting in more of a pressure difference across the mountain barrier.    Pressure differences drive winds.

The predicted wind gusts on Sunday evening are shown below.    Plenty of wind energy will be available.  But worried about wildfire.

You can listen to the podcast below or through your favorite podcast server.

Some major podcast servers: